As we do every spring and fall, we have come
together to review and discuss the accomplishments and progress of this great
organization. Despite the challenges facing ALPA during these difficult times,
we have evolved into a leaner, more efficient organization. But whether we have
good times or bad, it is always important for us to listen to our members'
comments and feedback, and respond with improvements that they appreciate.

Every day I hear from members wanting to know
how their dues dollars are being spent and what ALPA is doing to enhance their
membership. Adding value for our members continues to be a high priority as we
focus on streamlining processes, adding benefits, and offering additional
conveniences.

Let me share with you some of the highlights
spanning the past six months. As technology marches forward, so does ALPA. Your
union is determined to harness today’s innovations to promote our message. The
ALPA Communications and IT Departments have been working closely together to
fine tune, revise, and keep ALPA’s presence on the Internet front and center.

This morning, we flipped on the switch for the
debut of a revised members-only section of ALPA.org. ALPA members will now sign
on to the new members-only site directly from the ALPA home page. The new Web
pages are visually more appealing, and offer intuitive navigation, because they
were developed with user-friendliness in mind. It is now identical in layout and
design to the rest of the ALPA website. Even small details such as the way you
log on to the website were placed on the drawing board. No longer do you need to
remember your ALPA member number to log on. You can create your own username and
password.

The ALPA website has always offered a vast
amount of information, and figuring out where to find that information has often
been a daunting task. We realized it was overwhelming and have made refinements
that will now speed up navigating to the information you seek. Simple tasks such
as member profile details are now easier to review and change. We have amended
the Pilot Information page in “My ALPA” to display a member’s standing in a
color-coded box. On the member Contact Information page, we now provide clarity
to show how members can update their contact and status information.

I want to bring your attention to the new ALPA
Resource tab. Addressing one of the strategic priorities of the 2008 Board of
Directors, this new “ALPA” tab will soon house easily accessible information
about all ALPA departments and national committees. This will enable you to
access a specific area of ALPA expertise or seek the assistance needed without
spending a lot of time searching.

Coinciding with these website improvements, you
may have noticed ALPA’s implementation of RSS feeds and Twitter service, which
was launched at the Air Safety Forum in August. Because many ALPA members carry
laptops, smart-phones, and other e-mail devices when they travel, the
Association has broadened its arsenal of communications tools to make sure that
members have a variety of ways to stay in touch with their union.

ALPA used this year’s Air Safety Forum as a
perfect opportunity to provide news updates through Twitter. The Association
uses the service to keep members informed about relevant issues and events.
Since launching two months ago, we have sent “tweets” on many topics such as
pilot group initiative, our union’s work, and items within the labor movement.
Our members are now discovering this handy communications tool and many
followers have signed up, with more coming aboard every day.

Along with Twitter, the ALPA website now offers
an RSS feed. By clicking on the orange RSS logo on the ALPA home page, our
members can choose from a menu of information categories and receive summary
updates as soon as new information is posted. This convenience is available on
the national level and for MEC websites as well. Our IT and Communications staff
have already implemented these services to some of our pilot groups. Following
ALPA’s example, some of our member groups have utilized Twitter and RSS to
communicate with their pilots.

We’ve also made balloting procedures better for
our members. ALPA’s balloting vendor implemented a change that allows our
members to log on to the members-only portion of the ALPA website to access
voting. This has eliminated the need to establish separate voter credentials
when voting via the Internet.

Additionally, any time a member is an eligible
participant in an MEC or local ballot, an icon will appear on their intranet
home page alerting them to the open ballot. This icon will appear for the
duration of the ballot period, and when a vote has been cast, an e-mail
confirmation will be sent to the voting member’s e-mail address on file with the
Association.

The Membership and Council Services staff is
also sending a general notice to all eligible participants when a ballot opens
and a reminder five to seven days before the ballot closes. These communications
have been well-received, and the last two MEC ballots have reached participation
above 90 percent.

Besides the website, we have been working hard
to bring a better variety of insurance products to ALPA. I want to welcome Dave
Vance into his new role as ALPA’s senior VEBA and insurance plan advisor. Dave
and the staff of the Finance Department are focused on shopping the marketplace
for additional products and services that will be beneficial to our members.

The first example of this change will happen on
November 1st when a new measure of security will be introduced to the ALPA
insurance portfolio. That’s when we will introduce a term life insurance policy
that guarantees 20-year-level coverage at level premiums, even after retirement.

Tied into our drive to offer new insurance
products, we are working in conjunction with our preferred financial provider,
Charles Schwab, to improve communication of the products and services that ALPA
offers its members. With this in mind, we will be rolling out new advertisements
in Air Line Pilot magazine as well as adding features to ALPA’s insurance
website in 2010.

For FedEx, we are in the process of becoming the
official administrator for its insurance programs, which will allow us to secure
additional savings for the group. Of course, the goal in offering quality
products is to attract greater participation, which we can turn into greater
savings for our members.

The past six months have brought some changes to
ALPA’s membership base. Despite the economic environment we have dealt with this
year, membership has increased to 53,361, thanks to bringing in AirTran and
Colgan. I see this as a solid step in affirming ALPA’s Unity Resolution, adopted
at the 2000 BOD to reach ALPA’s goal of representing all airline pilots in the
U.S. and Canada.

Unfortunately, the economy has also had a
negative influence on the number of ALPA members furloughed. Our furloughed
membership continues to increase and has jumped to 3,383. This is an increase of
571 additional furloughed brothers and sisters since I last spoke to you.
Thankfully, our National Furloughed Pilots Support Program is there for them.
This program coordinates the furlough activities at each carrier and provides a
single point of contact. As members of ALPA, these pilots will not face the
stress of being furloughed alone and will have ALPA beside them every step of
the way.

I also want to respectfully acknowledge our
1,220 members on military leave and presently performing their patriotic duties.
Lastly, please take notice that members in bad standing have dropped in half
from six months ago while at the same time, there has been no increase in
inactive participant members.

Now for an update on AERF. At the Spring
Executive Board, I announced the kickoff of the Donate $3 campaign. I want to
take a moment to thank those members who donated generously. To date, 1,245 ALPA
members and employees have responded to the appeal. Thanks to this generosity,
AERF has raised over $35,000 so far in 2009.

Natural disasters can strike without warning.
The flooding and the declared state of emergency in 17 Georgia counties last
month is only the most recent example. Two ALPA members received assistance
after Mother Nature unleashed her fury in Georgia.

For those of you who have not yet made your
donation to AERF, I ask once again for you to step up to the plate and help make
a difference in the life of a fellow member pilot in need. If every member makes
at least a 3-dollar tax-deductable donation, AERF will be able to help all
members who seek assistance.

Also, I would like to extend a warm welcome to
Sam Landry from ExpressJet, our newest AERF volunteer director. Sam will team up
with Michael Bowen from Continental and Steve Gillen from United to manage AERF
for the next year. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge Bill Pollock, AERF
volunteer and director who stepped down after completing his term. Captain
Pollock’s dedication was an asset to AERF, and he will be missed.

In closing, I want to share a personal
observation with you. Recently, as I was traveling home, I took time to observe
pilots in uniform passing through the terminals. 48 ALPA-carrier members passed
me. Sadly, only 4 out of 48 had any sort of ALPA identification on their
uniform.

As we all understand, it is critical for a union
to have a cohesive, well-connected base. By witnessing such a small percentage
of members displaying their pride in ALPA, it concerns me greatly that we have
much work to do to bring many of our members into the fold. I’d like to ask each
of you to make your own observations. Do the members of your group display their
ALPA wings? Are they sending the message, “I'm proud to be a member of ALPA”? As
always, Membership will gladly send you pins or lanyards if you need them.

ALPA’s reputation comes from the work of many
dedicated men and women who have come before us and from the focused and
determined efforts of our current pilot members and staff. We are the largest
union in the world run exclusively by pilots, exclusively for pilots. It is time
for us to raise the level of awareness of our dues-paying members about how ALPA
protects them, provides service for them, and offers great value.

Lastly, I want to thank you for the opportunity
to serve you and express my appreciation for the many goals we
have accomplished together. I’m convinced that the work you and I do here each
day makes a difference in the lives of every member flying for an ALPA carrier.
Together, we make it happen.